Tuesday Tunes

I'm a huge fan of the reality show The Voice. I like it because they dont make fun of people leading up to the tryouts. The contestants are judged by their voice and not what they look like. Anyway, there are some great talents on the show this season. Last night one of the gals Sarah sang this song and it blew me away. I love this song and have the version on ipod by Brandi Carlisle. Its called The Story.

There's a duo on the show that sang a tribute to the late George Jones. He recently passed away 2 weeks ago and i am very sad for that. I grew up listening to old school country and George was a staple on the radio. One of his hits was Who's gonna fill their shoes? So here ya go- i'm playing his song.

Have a great day Y'all!!

Reacher or Receiver? Deep thoughts for today

I’ve had so much going on in my head right now. My birthday is this week and I’m turning 45. I’ll be officially MIDDLE-AGED!  How I feel is how I feel and  I understand it may not be big deal in grand scheme of things but these are my feelings. I know I’m getting married in a few months but in my “Plan” , I never would have dreamed I would be getting married for the first and only time at the age of 45.  Let me just say that I BELIEVE whole heartedly that I’m in God’s plan. I know I get it.  What I tend to do is reflect on my life and assess everything from career , to friends, to family, etc as my birthday approaches.

Here is what hurts me to my soul and I don’t know if I’m ready to accept any changes.  I am the Reacher.  I have made up these names so let me explain the definition. The Reacher is the friend/family member that does ALL the reaching out to others.  I have many “friends” that if I didn’t send text, email, phone call  or letter , we would not have any communication. See the hard part is that I’ve done this for so many years that I’ve created this pattern. The part I’m not ready for emotionally is that I have tested this theory over the years and the sad thing is that these people don’t even recognize that I HAVENT reached out.  The Receiver’s just get to coast with me doing the work. I’m tired. I would love to think that I am missed and that I’m worth the effort. I genuinely know in my heart that my Receiver’s like me/love me. It’s my fault that I’ve allowed them to be lazy.  When I reach out to many of my friends I can hear the sincerity of how glad they are that I called, wrote, etc.  That fuels me and makes me glad that I did and so I continue.  I take great JOY in sending random cards in the mail or a funny text.  Its like getting happy mail every day instead of bills.

I want to be strong and just “dig my feet in the sand” and proclaim that I will NOT make the first call or effort.  I don’t want to beg for attention and I would never proclaim my stance outwardly. It would be a silent promise to myself.  I understand that LIFE happens and we are all busy. I am crazy busy every day of my life.  One thing I DO is that I value my priorities and friends and family are those priorities.  How long does it take to scribble something down and put in the mail?  I also get that people cant talk  during work or other times but a text just saying HI would go so far.  I have family that I damn near BEG for them to call me or to send me pictures of their kids, I even offer to pay for anything (postage, long distance calls)- still NOTHING.  How do I proclaim my stance when its family and I would be lost without them?  It’s a wake up call to realize that in my head I always considered me close with my family but really I must not be.

There is no answer to my feelings and there is no wrong in either role as Reacher or Receiver.  I’m just feeling sensitive about this topic and I needed to write out my thoughts.  Bonus point for having a blog right?!

Date night at Twisted Root Burger Co

How has your week been so far? Mine has been really crappy work wise and I couldn’t be happier today is Friday. Who doesn’t love Friday’s?  Todd has had a pretty rough work week too so we needed to get out of the house and have a date night. I knew where I wanted to go that was close by. There is a yummy burger place that started out in Deep Ellum ( our artsy area of Dallas close to downtown)  a few years ago and has even been featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives with Guy Fieri.  The name of this place is Twisted Root Burger Co and dang if they are Delish! There’s 8 locations with another one opening soon ( close to where I work so I’m happy about that). The location near where we live in Bedford is just a few minutes away and I had not been there yet.  It’s very laid back and the menu’s are written on large kraft butcher paper. The fun part is that they give you a famous name to call out when our burgers are ready. Paris Hilton, Mr. Incredible, Meryl Streep, are a few that I remember from last night. They make jars of homemade pickles, homemade root beer and also homemade ice cream. Unfortunately I was too full from the burger and onion strings and didn’t have room for a shake which I heard are incredible.

I had the Bacon Bomb burger that had bacon and blue cheese crumbles on it. Yumm! 

For the record, I am not being compensated in any way ,form, or fashion for writing this but I wanted to share with y’all a fun yummy place around Dallas.

They have buffalo and other exotic meats

walkup beer cooler

Who doesnt love a Disco ball?! The pickle bar is also shown

I need to go back for an adult shake!

I had the homemade root beer with  my burger and fried onions

Have a fantastic weekend! Be safe and have loads of fun and i want to hear all about it.

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER- My Giveaway

Happy Wednesday everyone. I want to announce the winner of the 25$ gift certificate towards Origami Owl jewelry. Y'all know that my laptop here at office is squirrely with HTML and rafflecopter, etc. So i wrote
down everyone's name that left me a comment on pieces of paper and added to my lucky starbucks coffee mug. I had a coworker (Alan) pull the winner out of the mug and i laughed out loud when i saw who the winner is. I Promise and SWEAR on my Harley and my first born that this was very fair and i did NOT rig this.
So the winner is no other than my best friend and cousin Lauren Thomas. She had commented that she would like to make a memory locket for her mom and also a fun one with a camera and Eiffel tower. Congratulations Lauren!!! I am placing an order myself this week for some extra charms that i can switch around and a plate that says Dream. I have a spare bedroom that is decorated with Dream signs. I'll tell you in another post what prompted the Dream room.

Tuesday's Tunes

Good morning everyone- Happy Tuesday to you!  I have so many songs going on in my head from listening to the radio on way to work. I listen mostly to classic Rock in the mornings but i change the channels in between all the commercials.

I am starting out with one of my favorites from the 80's with Stevie Nicks and Don Henley. Leather and Lace. I loved the song from the second it came out.

This next song is by the Pet Shop Boys who were also an 80's fave of mine. They had a few great songs but i always liked this one because i was a waitress in college down in the WestEnd  section of Dallas.
West End Girls

If you havent heard, i'm giving away a 25$ gift certificate towards an Origami Owl necklace in my post before this one. Just tell me how you're following me and  what kind of locket you would create. You can also just order one from the website and make sure you choose my blog from the jewelry bar ( im registered under having a party).
 As always though, thank you for stopping by!!!

Origami Owl- A giveaway!! So play along

How's everyone doing today? Dont know about you but i am thrilled that today is Friday! This week was so long and hard but i wanted to end this work week on a fun note.  A few weeks ago i came across a lady named Erica at my church craft fair. She sells Origami Owl custom jewelry and i bought one for myself with the marriage theme.

I picked Always for my stamped plate ( as in always and forever), The letter M will be for my new last name, the ring (obvious) , the cross because GOD is first in our marriage, and the wine glass because we're getting married in a winery.

Here's how it works: 1. Select Charms that have meaning to you

2. Choose your favorite Living Locket  (9 styles to choose from)

3. Add a chain that defines your style

4. Enhance your story with a stamped  Plate

5. Include Dangles for a dazzling effect ( optional of course)

Erica has given me a 25$ gift certificate towards your jewelry for all my blogger readers.  The gift cert has to be used through her of course.  What we have going on is that i'm hosting an online party through Erica and you need to login to the website to place order and give my name : Holli Schmitz.

The second part is cool because if you like her Facebook page, she also giving away another 25$ gift certificate to one of her followers.

I took pictures of some lockets that were on my brochure to share with y'all for some inspiration. Remember Mother's day is around the corner.

I'll be honest with you- i had a gazillion of my own chains so i didnt need to buy that. I chose 4 charms but you can pick however many you want. I havent added any dangles yet but i will.  My friend from church recently lost her husband and she made herself one with the charm " in memory of". It was so sweet!
As y'all know my html /compose button has not worked for a few weeks so my giveaway is going to be very old fashioned. I will put everyone's name in a hat and will ask Todd to pick a name.  Leave me a comment and tell me what you would want in your locket. Also tell me how you're following my blog (GFC, RSS, Bloglovin, etc).
I will pick a winner next Wednesday on May 7th by 9am.
So login HERE to shop online or www.myowncharm.com
And click HERE to like Erica's facebook page.
I am in the Jewelry bar so please use dropdown and click on my blog name

You do NOT have to be in Texas to order from Erica.  Her email is  myowncharm (at)gmail.com   if you have any questions.
I really love having something different and i get tons of compliments.
Have a great weekend!! Holli

Texas Bloggers Get Together

Last weekend a group of gals from our Texas Bloggers group all met up for some fun and visiting.  Nicole who blogs at Three31 planned the whole evening.  I started out meeting my friend Julie at her house so we could ride together to Ft Worth. The evening began at Lucky Strike bowling alley which is so cool. Its a huge place that has private rooms for parties, an outdoor patio, a few bars around the place and of course the bowling alleys.  We hung out there for a couple of hours and then dinner was across the street at Brownstone Kitchen.
Nicole did such a great job putting this together and had some swag bags for everyone. Many of the bloggers donated items to go in the bags and most all the bags were different. Some had Scentsy items, homemade cards, homemade coffee sleeves, gift certificates, scarves, canvas bag, etc. 
Meeting some of these gals in person was so great because i've been following their blogs and i feel like i know them. I was the oldest gal there and i sat next to the youngest gal there but we had blogging in common and i enjoyed meeting some gals and finding new blogs to read.
I didnt take my camera but Taylor and Nicole gave me permission to use their pictures.
Having a community to reach out to for tips, advice, and friendship is priceless!

Nicole, Julie, me

Gutter ball again! Consistency is great

Taylor, Nicole, Sarah (3 sweetys!)

The Official List of AttendeesRebecca @ Busy Becka
Heather @ Dallas Single Mom
Gayle @ Grace for Gayle
Sarah @ A Dash of SarahBecky @ The Java Mama
Rebekah @ Living and Learning
Lauren @ Enjoying the Journey
Stephanie @ Restyle.Re.RackMarci @ Living Through Motherhood
Holli @ Holli’s Hoots and Hollers
Julie @ A Beautiful Day
Helene @ Helene In BetweenTaylor @ Pink Heels Pink Truck
Nicole @ Three 31